Vigil held in Brunswick, Australia in memory of murdered Jill Meagher

Jill Meagher: Rape and murder of Irish immigrant draws powerful public responseFamily's own

A vigil was held at the Brunswick Baptist Church in Melbourne in Australia yesterday to remember Irish woman Jill Meagher, who was murdered on her way home from a night on the town one week ago.

According to RTE, more than 1,000 people visited the church, located close to where Meagher lived and was last seen alive while walking home from night out at a nearby bar.

The tragic 29-year-old's body was discovered in a shallow grave at the side of a dirt road northwest of Melbourne.

Meanwhile a 41-year-old man appeared before Melbourne Magistrates' Court charged with her rape and murder yesterday. Adrian Bayley, also from Melbourne, will face a committal hearing on 18 January.

Meagher's heartbroken husband Tom and her brother Michael McKeon were both in court for the hearing. Meagher spoke briefly to the media afterwards, saying: 'Despite the fact that this is the worst thing that we will ever go through in our lives, I've been really humbled by the support of the Australian public, the tireless efforts of the police and all the friends and families who've put their lives on hold to help us out.'

CCTV footage released earlier this week played a major role in the search and arrest, and police confirmed that tips from a social media campaign also contributed important information to the investigation.

Understanding the strong emotions the case has provoked both the Australian police and Tom Meagher have urged the public to still be cautious with their online comments.

'While I really appreciate all the support, I would just like to mention that negative comments on social media may hurt legal proceedings, so please be mindful of that,' Meagher said outside court.

Yesterday Meagher's uncle, Michael McKeon issued a statement saying: 'We are devastated. We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe how we feel at what has happened.

McKeon also paid tribute to the help that social media played in the search.

'We believe that it has helped us to reach a conclusion although it is not the one we had hoped and prayed for,' he wrote.